


Exhaustion

by Adictedtobadguys56



Series: 100 Teen Wolf Fics [10]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Insomnia, M/M, Panic Attacks, The Hale Fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 21:25:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2522312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adictedtobadguys56/pseuds/Adictedtobadguys56
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter hates this time of year because he doesn't sleep and he can hardly function. Not to mention that the guilt has been eating away at him for ten years. So, the only logical thing to do is to not sleep and pretend that nothing is bothering him, that is until Stiles notices that something is wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Steter Week!
> 
> Day 3: HUMAN AU!
> 
> Okay so this fic took forever to write but it does have a playlist on 8 tracks called Hold Me created by PsychxAlphx check it out!
> 
> Not much more to say other than enjoy :D

Peter knew that no matter what happened he would still have the nightmare. He would wake up drenched in a cold sweat. His heart would pound in his chest, and he would realize he was hopelessly alone. So, he didn’t sleep. He didn’t even dare close his eyes for fear of what was to come.

His fingers traced slow circles into the couch as his eyes darted from word to word. He had read this book at least twenty times, but it was always the same to him. The darkness of the young children made him laugh. It was especially funny to him when Piggy got squished. 

The simple rays of dawn were coming in through the window just as he finished the last page. He looked at the large window that overlooked a scenic view of the woods. He shuttered s a little at the thought then got up. He figured it wasn’t a bad idea to head to Starbucks and get some coffee. Maybe the smiling face of his boyfriend would cheer him up. 

He made his way towards his car his eyes darting around nervously before he sunk into the car with the door closed. He took a slow deep breath before buckling up and starting the car. For a moment, he sat there thinking about what today was but he just pushed it off and started driving to get his coffee. It was going to be a long day, and if he was supposed to function around his living family, he would need the caffeine boost. 

Peter made it to Starbucks in record time and got in line. His eyes scanning to find Stiles who seemed to be working the drive through. Oh well. His eyes darted towards his watch, and he figured that he wouldn’t mind waiting around for the next hour and a half until Stiles got done with his shift. Stiles had insisted on coming with him to the so-called family function that his niece had planned. So, his shift was short today. 

Peter ordered his coffee and then made his way towards a table. The stares and mummers were intense today. Everyone knew, thanks to the front page of the paper, that today was the tenth anniversary of the great Hale fire. 

“Hey,” Stiles said, drawing Peter out of his own world. Peter looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I thought-“

“I texted Scott when I saw you walk in. He’s here now, so I’m free to go,” He explained. Peter nodded before taking a slow sip of whatever it was he had ordered. When he first started to tutor Stiles they had been strictly professional about it. They didn’t kiss or talk outside of lessons, but the boy had grown on him, especially when Scott had told him he wasn’t gay. It had crushed Stiles, and he came to his lesson sobbing. What started out as a consolidating hug had become a heated kiss, and now they were here together.

Stiles had graduated with nice grades and was now attending junior college. He still lived with his dad said he was helping pay the bills, but Peter knew it was just because he was watching him. His dad was the local sheriff, and he really wasn’t getting any younger, so Peter didn’t mind it too much when Stiles turned down his offer to live with him.

“Are you ready?” Stiles asked, once again bringing Peter back to reality. 

“Huh yeah, I’m ready. Do you need to go to your house first?” Peter asked.

“If you don’t mind. I mean I can go in my work clothes, but we have about an hour till we have to head out to the family thing anyways…” Stiles trailed off looking at Peter. He had stopped listening and was staring past him looking out the window. There wasn’t anything in particular that had Peter’s attention just space and air. He stared at it not even hearing Stiles anymore. 

Stiles frowned. He didn’t understand Peter on a good day but today he seemed beyond compression. Stiles reached out and took Peter's arm. This easily jolted him back causing him to jerk away and almost stumble back over the chair. Stiles held up his hands and looked at Peter whose eyes were almost wild with fear. It was then that he noticed the dark bags under his eyes. Two days ago Peter had complained about the little sleep he was getting but Stiles though it had passed, apparently not.

“Let’s go back to my place okay?” Stiles asked. Peter nodded, relaxing as he took Stiles' hand. Just the physical contact made him feel a lot better about the entire situation. 

Stiles drove them back to his place; Peter had only argued a little. They walked in; the sheriff was at work and went straight up to his room. It was messy as usual, but Peter didn’t mind. He had gotten used to it when they were just tutor and student. Peter sat down on the bed ad remained upright for the most part until Stiles disappeared out of the room to use the bathroom. Once he was alone Peter moved, so he was lying face down on Stiles bed. He wrapped his arms around the pillow he knew Stiles always slept with. Even though he had about four on his bed that all had the same pillow case he only used one.

“Peter, are you okay?” Stiles asked from the doorway, as he watched Peter attempting to bury himself into the pillow. Peter didn’t respond just nodded. Stiles let out a low but frustrated sigh as he walked over to sit on the bed next to him. Peter, didn’t even try to move away or even deny that he was lying to Stiles. He wasn’t okay. There was nothing okay about this whole situation. He had trusted Kate. Trusted her with his nephew. But you know jealousy and psycho women usually lead to house fires that killed his sister, and most of his family then landed him in the hospital for six years. Yeah, there was nothing okay with that situation.

“Does it have something to do with today? I mean I know it’s been ten years since they were killed, and you don’t have to be over it because I mean I’m twenty and it’s been thirteen years since my mom died and I’m still only kind of sort of over that-“ Peter reached up and placed a finger to Stiles lips, finally rolling over to look at him. It was impossible for him to hide the pain anymore. He was so tired, tired of fighting sleep, and fighting the tears that he just started to cry. Not heavy sobs, like Stiles, did when he got upset, but silent tears that just slipped down his face.

Stiles was rather shocked by what he saw. Not that he had never seen a grown man cry, but he had never seen Peter cry, or show an emotion that wasn’t smug. This was an emotion that made Peter look vulnerable, and Peter was anything but vulnerable. So, seeing Peter express sorrow or fear or whatever this was, made Stiles break. 

“God Peter don’t cry please,” He said, hauling the almost limp man into his lap. Long thin fingers brushed slowly through Peter’s hair. He muttered soft and quiet saying that really meant nothing; the just served to add noise to the room. Stiles had learned a while back that there was something to crying with someone that made things better. He just hoped that Peter felt that too.

“I can’t, Stiles,” Peter whispered after his sobs had seemed to quiet. His body rested lifelessly in Stiles' arms. Stiles spared him a glance and almost wished he hadn’t with the way that Peter looked. His eyes were red and puffy, and they just stared out past him through his way and deep into space. It was almost as if he was speaking to confirm his existence. 

“What can’t you do?”

“Face them. I can’t look at my family anymore. They don’t know what happened. They don’t understand what role I played,” Peter said softly. His words hung like weights in the air between them, making Stiles shift a little uncomfortably. 

“What do you mean by your role? I mean you didn’t set the fire yourself…right?” He asked feeling his words catching in his throat. He had always been a little wary of Peter in the beginning. He always seemed way to put together for a man who had spent six years recovering from the burns to his body. 

“I trusted her. I trusted Kate with Derek but god I knew it wouldn’t work. They were teenagers. Talia had said they couldn’t and shouldn’t see each other, but I told Derek I’d cover for him. I’d help him get the girl of his dreams. I had never seen him look that happy since before Paige had died,” Peter muttered as he closed his eyes. 

He remembered it like it was yesterday. The sound of Derek and Kate fucking in his room as he passed by the door. Then the sound of the smoke alarms as he rushed out. He could hear his sister screaming. He room had no windows and only one door which was blocked by the flames. Peter tried; he tried hard to get to her, but he couldn’t. 

It had been Kate who set the fire. She wanted to eliminate Talia since she was the only thing standing between her and Derek. So, it was only logical that she should kill her, and Peter had let them see each other. He had let them have sex in Derek’s bedroom after everyone had gone to bed. He had even gone to bed and now here he was lying in bed with Stiles fighting the urge to cry yet again. 

“Peter, I don’t think that any of this was your fault,” Stiles said, carefully. He was trying to gage the older male’s reaction, but there wasn’t much of one.

“That’s what the doctors have always said. They keep telling me that I couldn’t have known that she would do that. They keep trying to tell me that I didn’t set the fire, but I should have known. She was an Argent. I couldn’t ever trust Chris so why should I be able to trust Kate?” Peter asked, his voice cracking on the last word. 

“Because sometimes siblings are different. I mean from what you’ve told me, you and Talia were nothing alike,” Stiles said, his fingers still running through Peter’s hair. He wasn’t even sure if it was helping, but it felt nice, for Stiles at least. 

“Not them. They're all the same. If only I had known then I could have stopped this. I could have made it so that Derek never saw Kate,” Peter said quickly his words starting to string together as he worked himself up into another fit of crying. This time the sobs came harshly with his body shaking. Each and every breath was agonizing for him. He felt dizzy as he tried to spit out more and more words, only they came out as mangled sobs. Peter’s hands gripped onto Stiles pants as he continued to struggle to breath and get his point across at the same time.

“Peter! Peter I need you to calm down,” Stiles said quickly. It wasn’t hard for him to spot a panic attack, after all Stiles had been diagnosed with a small anxiety disorder that usually manifested itself in panic attacks. 

The words easily went over Peter's head as he continued to shake with the sobs. He did however manage to roll himself onto his back and look up at Stiles. His hand reached up to grab at Stiles who took his hand and smiled down at him. He was trying to be calm for Peter’s sake, and Peter could see that, but it wasn’t doing too much to help.

“Peter take deep breaths come on,” Stiles said trying to get Peter to follow his lead. Sadly it didn’t seem to do much to help him. Peter just kept hyperventilating. Stiles bit his lip and leaned forward quickly, doubling over, and pressing his lips to Peters. He could feel him fighting him but, he could feel it working. Peter’s mind had changed focus he wasn’t thinking about his family or the fire, right now he was kissing Stiles.

After a few breathless seconds Stiles pulled away, his back hurting. He looked down at Peter, who was taking slow and steady deep breaths. They looked at each other for a little bit in silence, Stiles fingers running through Peter’s hair yet again.

“Thank you,” Peter said slowly. Stiles smiled at him.

“Well, I can’t have you passing out on me now can I?” He asked. Peter rolled his eyes before closing them. His breathing was slowing and before too long he was out. Stiles smiled before shooting a quick text to Derek informing him that Peter couldn’t make it. Derek replied saying he was just about to text Peter and let him know that they had decided to cancel the family meet up. Derek didn’t say it, but Stiles had figured that it was just too painful. Stiles moved so he could lay down next to Peter, wrapping his arms around him and resting his forehead against the top of Peter’s head before falling asleep himself.


End file.
